MAJOR INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECT 'SALFORD RISE' WILL DELIVER A 90M LONG GREEN BOULEVARD IN THE SKY AS WELL AS UP TO 7,000 JOBS AND MILLIONS INVESTED INTO LOCAL COMMUNITIES

Momentum continues in Salford as the unique partnership behind Crescent – Salford City Council, the University of Salford and leading development partnership, The English Cities Fund (ECF) – has submitted planning for the major infrastructure project, Salford Rise.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer and Department for Levelling up Housing and Communities awarded the project £13.17m in the Autumn budget, which will connect communities across Salford to the unrivalled opportunities the £2.5bn, 240-acre Crescent regeneration will present. Construction of Salford Rise is anticipated to start on site in Summer 2022.

Designed by international practice, Make Architects, Salford Rise will be the catalyst that will unlock the ambition for the Crescent Innovation area of the masterplan. Salford Rise will deliver a 90m long green boulevard in the sky that stretches over Fredrick Road, together with adjacent public realm for events and activities.

Crescent Innovation is where people, industry and academia will meet, is a key component of the Salford Innovation Triangle and was named in the recent levelling up white paper as one of the UK’s Innovation Accelerators, which will see £100m invested into three public-private academic partnerships to encourage research. This area will focus on creating a research, development and innovation campus that will sit at the northern gateway of Salford Rise. Work is already underway at three world-leading university facilities at the North of England Robotics Innovation Centre, the Science, Engineering and Environment (SEE) building and Energy House 2.0.

The Crescent masterplan brings together the best of the public and private sector to bring forward a truly connected, sustainable and inclusive Salford for the future, through the delivery of over 3,000 homes, over 1m sq ft of space to innovate and collaborate, alongside 1m sq ft of offices, retail, leisure, a new multi-modal transport hub with active travel at its heart, set within vast areas of green space.

Crescent will also create up to 7,000 new jobs, with more than £90m expected to be reinvested into local communities, through new revenue from business rates realised on completion of the scheme.

Maggie Grogan, development director at ECF, said:

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“Both the partnership and the vision for Crescent is unique. It’s clear that excitement around what we’re looking to achieve here is building, as we work hard with and for the people of Salford to turn that vision into reality.

“Essentially people make place and Salford Rise will remove a significant barrier to movement across the wider masterplan, enabling the delivery of Crescent Innovation, bringing communities in the surrounding area together, while connecting them to the opportunities to thrive and prosper.

“Together with the community, we’re forging ahead with our collective vision to create a robust and resilient Salford that’s seen on a global stage as a leader of innovation, collaboration and place-making.”

 

Paul Dennett, Salford city mayor, said:

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“This exciting and ambitious vision for the Crescent will deliver real change with a positive impact for local communities in the city. it will connect people with opportunities – both in education and industry as we strive to make the city a better and fairer place for all.

“I’d like to thank our partners at ECF and the University of Salford in driving this project forwards and bringing this masterplan to life.”

 

Professor Helen Marshall, vice-chancellor of the University of Salford, added:

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“The government has made it clear that unlocking the innovation potential of our regions will be critical to levelling up our communities. Crescent Innovation is a game-changing opportunity to deliver a new industrial innovation zone for Salford and Greater Manchester, and Salford Rise is the catalyst to bring our ambitions to life.

“This is a really exciting time to be moving forward on a project like this. Greater Manchester has just been awarded a share of a £100m fund to create an innovation accelerator for our city region – Innovation GM – and the University of Salford is committed to playing our part to harness the expertise and knowledge of our academic community to have a positive impact on businesses, society and communities across Greater Manchester through Crescent Innovation.”

 

For more information on Salford Rise and Crescent, please visit Crescentsalford.com.